Facebook, TikTok promoted Colombian armed groups’ content to recruit children: NGO

Human Rights Watch reported that Facebook and TikTok failed to stop, and in some cases appeared to promote, content used by Colombian armed groups to recruit children, with about 1,500 children recruited since 2021.

Nearly half of recruited children are Indigenous, despite Indigenous people making up roughly 4% of Colombia's population, and girls account for about 40% of recruits, facing particular exposure to sexual violence.

Meta and TikTok told Human Rights Watch they removed the specific content cited in the report; FARC-descended dissident groups were responsible for 74% of documented recruitment cases between 2021 and 2025.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.